Ashburn, Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to $53 Million Bank Fraud

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Osama El-Atari, 31, of Ashburn, Va., pleaded guilty today to operating a fraud scheme that stole more than $53 million from banks throughout the United States.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office; and C. André Martin, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

“In a scheme rife with fraud, Osama El-Atari stole more than $50 million from banks and then fled the country when the scam began to unravel,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Thanks to determined agents, we tracked him down, are holding him responsible for his crimes, and have begun the process of obtaining justice for his victims.”

“Mr. El-Atari’s lavish lifestyle was financed on repeated deception which ultimately caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to the banks,” said FBI ADIC Henry. “This type of greed and wanton disregard for others substantially harms the financial industry and consumers.”

“Money laundering constitutes a serious threat to our communities andto the integrity of our financial system,” said IRS-CI SAC C. André Martin. “IRS-CI has the financial investigators and expertise that is critical to locating the money and prosecuting the offenders.”

El Atari pled guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering contained in a criminal information filed in the Eastern District of Virginia and an indictment filed in the Northern District of Ohio. Sentencing has been set for July 30, 2010. El-Atari faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the bank fraud counts and 10 years in prison on the money laundering count.

In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, El-Atari acknowledged to defrauding banks in Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee and Maryland of more than $53 million. In order to accomplish his fraud, El-Atari presented the banks with fraudulent life insurance policies—with purported cash values of millions of dollars—as collateral to obtain the fraudulent loans. The stated purpose of the loans was for various business ventures. To facilitate his scheme, El-Atari set up fake domain names, used fake federal express mailings and fake e-mails in order to convince the banks that his collateral was authentic. El-Atari used money obtained from his fraud to buy exotic cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris and to purchase a multi-million-dollar home in Ashburn, Va. He fled the United States in May 2009 and was later apprehended in Texas in January 2010.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Fahey and Jack Hanly of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant United States Attorney John Sammon of the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Previously...

Quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2294025/posts

Flashy Va. Businessman Vanishes, Leaving Huge Debts Behind (Steals from Banks Leaves Country)
The Washington Post ^ | July 16, 2009 | Derek Kravitz
Posted on July 16, 2009 9:39:39 AM PDT by khnyny

Subtlety was never one of Osama El-Atari’s strong suits.

The son of Jordanian immigrants was a self-described “car nut” who racked up a fierce number of speeding tickets across Northern Virginia. He told a reporter that he owned two Lamborghinis, two Ferraris and a Rolls-Royce Phantom, among other vehicles, and that his insurance bill was $18,000 a month. One car dealer said El-Atari would occasionally bring a chauffeur to dealerships.

The Loudoun County restaurateur tried to show off his wealth whenever he could, by donating thousands to local political candidates or purchasing expensive sports memorabilia at charity galas. He told The Washington Post a year ago that he had “no other bad habits.”

But now El-Atari has apparently vanished, leaving behind a growing number of debts, lawsuits and confused creditors. He was nowhere to be found at a hearing Friday to consider his creditors’ petition to force him into bankruptcy. One bank was told that he might be in London. Another said his vehicles might have been shipped to Jordan.

“We looked into the accounts for El-Atari Holdings, and there’s nothing left,” said David B. Tatge, the D.C. attorney for the creditors. “I guess I’m not really surprised.”

Three banks say in court documents that El-Atari used nonexistent life insurance policies to get millions in loans. An insurance company says the FBI is investigating at least one of those cases, involving Northern Trust Bank in Cleveland. Creditors are crying foul, asking that El-Atari cough up $41.6 million in unpaid loans. More banks are coming forward, too.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

TOPICS: Local News; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: arabamericans; atari; elatari; loudouncounty; millionaires; theft; virginia; Click to Add Keyword
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1 posted on July 16, 2009 9:39:40 AM PDT by khnyny
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To: khnyny
El-Atari’s former sister-in-law flees the country as well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/15/AR2009071503689.html?hpid=sec-metro

An Ashburn real estate agent has been charged with several counts of mortgage fraud after helping more than 100 people buy houses they couldn’t afford and defrauding lenders of about $50 million, the Loudoun County sheriff said yesterday.

Diane H. Frederick Atari, 42, fixed her clients’ poor credit scores and inflated their incomes so they could qualify for mortgages they otherwise would not have gotten, county authorities said. The alleged fraud occurred between 2006 and last year. Many of the homes were bought in eastern Loudoun and in Fairfax County.

2 posted on July 16, 2009 9:43:27 AM PDT by khnyny (”The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.”)

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote:

washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/wfo090310.htm

Former United Bank Employee Sentenced to 30 Months for Helping Conspirator Steal $17 Million from Bank

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Sissaye Gezachew, 32, of Springfield, Va., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar bank fraud conspiracy.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Rebecca Sparkman, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Gezachew, who worked as an assistant vice president-senior credit analyst at United Bank during the time frame of the scheme, assisted Osama El-Atari, 31, of Ashburn, Va., to defraud United Bank of more than $17 million from 2007 to 2009. Gezachew aided El-Atari in his fraudulent scheme by supplying him with fraudulent documents, including a fraudulent tax return, and setting up fake domain names and e-mail accounts for El-Atari to submit to the bank in support of the fraudulently obtained loans. As part of his sentence, Gezachew was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution to United Bank.

On Aug. 27, 2010, El-Atari was sentenced to 144 months in prison for operating the fraud scheme that stole more than $53 million from banks throughout the United States.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Fahey and Jack Hanly are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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